Forum home› Problem solving
This Forum will close on Wednesday 27 March, 2024. Please refer to the announcement on the Discussions page for further detail.

white fungus fluff on pots in propagator

REMF33REMF33 Posts: 731
in Problem solving
I am sure this has come up many times but a search isn't yielding a thread.
I sowed some sweet peas earlier in the week and put them in a heated propagator in an unheated glass-roofed (quite cold) area down the side of the house. Now I have white fluff on the surface of the compost. Does it matter? Obviously I have scraped it off, but is that going to be enough? I realize that humidity is an issue. Assuming I don't have to start again, will it be enough to open the vents on the propagator? Or should I take the lid off? Am concerned that they won't germinate without it. Should I just bring the whole lot inside and keep the lid off? And if I do this and they germinate, can I put them back in the unheated lean to afterwards?
Sorry - so many questions!
Any thoughts/advice on this would be gratefully received!

Posts

  • Pete.8Pete.8 Posts: 11,340
    I suspect the compost was a bit too wet when you sowed which has encouraged fungi.
    I don't sow anything this time of year, but when I have sowed sweet peas in winter in past years I barely use any water on the compost until I see a shoot poking through the compost - I just use some water in a hand sprayer to dampen the top of the compost just a little.
    So long as there is a little dampness in the compost that's all the seed needs to get going.
    You could take the lid off during the day and the warmth from the propagator will help dry the compost, but leave it covered at night and leave the vents open, and keep your fingers crossed.
    Or, you could bring them all in-doors to help dry them off a bit, which is an alternative, but you'd need to harden them off to get used to outdoor conditions again. That said, sweet peas are very hardy plants once they have germinated.
    When I do grow sweet peas I sow in March and they're flowering by June.

    Billericay - Essex

    Knowledge is knowing that a tomato is a fruit.
    Wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad.
  • REMF33REMF33 Posts: 731

    Thanks your reply @Pete.8 Actually all I used was a spray. I did wonder if it was enough as I suspect it wouldn't really have been enough to reach the seeds. Enough to encourage fungus though it would seem.

    The reason I am doing this so early is that last year I started March/April and they really needed to be potted out long before I felt it was safe to harden them off. Lovely healthy plants became less healthy and quickly succumbed to mildew one they did eventually go outside. (Although they were in big pots rather than the ground.) I could have put them out earlier, perhaps. But even if they spend their entire lives in the cold I still can't put them out before the risk of frost has gone?

    My other 'weapon' that I have this year, though, are some 'pea pots' - 1 litre tall pots which I can pot them on into, although room in the lean to is limited.

    For the last two nights they have had the vents open full and the lid not quite on properly. Will try leaving the lid off during the day. I think the fungus is there now, though, and will likely come back, alas if the lid is left on.
    Similar looking stuff didn't affect edible pea and bean seedlings last years, so maybe it will be ok. In the meantime I have ordered replacement pea seeds.

    Thanks again.
  • Pete.8Pete.8 Posts: 11,340
    The fungus is unlikely to have any detrimental effect on the seeds once they germinate.
    Sweet peas are really hardy, so don't worry about temperatures once they have germinated.
    You can get them in the 'pea pots' and leave them outside - so long as they're sheltered, they won't mind the cold.

    Billericay - Essex

    Knowledge is knowing that a tomato is a fruit.
    Wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad.
  • LemonyVioletLemonyViolet Posts: 13
    Hi, I have had this issue in the past when starting lots of seedlings indoors. I looked up natural antifungals and ended up mixing together a blend of garlic powder, cinnamon and charcoal and sprinkled that on top of the compost, and it stopped further outbreaks. 
  • REMF33REMF33 Posts: 731
    The sweet peas don't seem to have suffered in the end. Ther are other issues (leggy) but that's another matter.
    I have started off another batch sans lid.
  • ObelixxObelixx Posts: 30,090
    Leggy indicates a lack of light.

    Excess moisture will encourage fungae and dampening off of any seedling.  You can guard against this by making sure the compost is drained and just damp, not sodden.  Sprinkling cinnamon powder also helps and, I've read recently, spraying with a cold infusion of chamomile flowers will protect against damping off and can be used to tackle early problems with powdery mildew and botrytis on plants if caught in time.
    Vendée - 20kms from Atlantic coast.
    "The price good men (and women) pay for indifference to public affairs is to be ruled by evil men (and women)."
    Plato
  • RachelFRachelF Posts: 6
    edited January 2021
    yes I am aware of this but it is odd. They are in a sloping glass roofed area. Plenty of light. My mother - an expert and avid gardener in her day (now housebound) - used to raise healthy seedlings on the front room on a table by the window. Not even on the windowsill. Also last years’ were not leggy. I suppose I started them much later when there was more light, though. 
    When my next lot come up, assuming they do, I will try using a ‘grow light’. But this will mean they will be warmer as I will have to site it on a propagator lid. Nothing to suspend one from.  I think it’s too cold to put them outside at the moment. I suppose they could go out on warmer days and come in on the evening but it’s a faff with a sticking back door.
    Re fungus I only gave the compost a light spray from a bottle. They were just very lightly damp. I am sure it was caused by lack of ventilation and possibly spores in the propagator. All is ok now though. It wasn’t dampening off disease. 
  • REMF33REMF33 Posts: 731
    Sorry that was me. I signed in using my old account by mistake! I blame the cat...
  • ObelixxObelixx Posts: 30,090
    This January has been darker than last year I think.  Lots of dark grey cloud and rain.

    I wouldn't waste the space or energy for grow lights on sweet peas.   Just wait a week or two for natural light levels to improve.
    Vendée - 20kms from Atlantic coast.
    "The price good men (and women) pay for indifference to public affairs is to be ruled by evil men (and women)."
    Plato
  • REMF33REMF33 Posts: 731
    Ok. I am trying to sow early in order to avoid last year's fiasco when they were wanting to go out long before they could, and what were initially beautifully healthy seedlings became rather less than healthy. Once finally out, they only lasted a month before succumbing to mildew.
    It rather feels like I can't win, sometimes.
    However I have already sown a second batch, now, so I might as well use my grow light when they germinate. I think the light I have uses very little energy (LEDs) and takes up no more space than the seedlings do.
    I am still not unconvinced that leggyiness is being caused in part at least, by leaving the propagator on for too long.
    I have read that they need 10C to germinate, which they won't get in their current location. There is a lot of conflicting info about though.
    I currently have them in a propagator with heat on and the lid off. Will turn it off as soon as they start to germinate. May put some under a light and leave some without and see if it makes a difference.
    Will pinch out my leggy ones as soon as they have a few more leaves.
    If I had thought about it from the start I could have made a more controlled experiment of it- grown the same variety of sweet pea in at least 4 different conditions - with and without initial heat and with and without grow lights. It shouldn't really be necessary , though, should it...?! I did think all this faffing might help to improve my seedling rearing in general, but I guess not necessarily.
    This is only year two of making a concerted effort at growing from seed for me. In the past, apart from a few desultory attempts at growing from seed, I have mainly bought plants (and I bought a lot last year too), and almost exclusively grew vegetables. It's a learning curve. But I have been bitten by both the growing from seed and flowering plants bugs!
    Next thing to be added into the mix will be a greenhouse, I hope.
Sign In or Register to comment.